Foundation garment



March 7, 1944. F, E. WRIGLEY FOUNDATION GARMENT 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 26, 1942 March 7, 1944. WRIGLEY 2,343,607

FOUNDATION GARMENT Filed May 26, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Mar. 7, 1944 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FOUNDATION GARMENT Florence E. Wrigley, Woodstock, Ill.

Application May 26, 1942, Serial No. 444,576

5 Claims.

This invention relates broadly to the class of garments and pertains more particularly to improvements in a foundation garment or combination brassiere and girdle.

A principal object of the present invention is to provide a combination separable brassiere and girdle structure in which the lower back portion of the girdle is formed in two joined but relatively shiftable portions which readily shift as the positions of the wearer change, as in sitting and standing, while at the same time maintaining a, smooth form and a firm position over the surface of the body. I

Another object of the invention is to provide a combination garment of the character stated in which the girdle portion of the garment is shaped to give firm support over the hips and for a slight distance above the waist line, and to have a front panel in which the upper edge extends upwardly beyond the sides and back of the girdle for detachable connection with the lower edge of a brassire, the extended upper portion of the front panel of the girdleextending well above the stomach area.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a combined girdle and brassiere in which the brassiere terminates at the sides of the chest and is attached at such sides to securing straps which attach to the girdle in the back and which are designed in such manner as to function, in addition to their function as a brassire holding means, as a shoulder bracing means.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a foundation garment having separably joined girdle and brassiere wherein the brassire straps are designed and arranged in a novel manner to function as a shoulder brace and are attached to the back top edge of the girdle in a manner to provide for a rearrangement of the straps so that the garment may be readily worn with a backless evening dress without having the back straps from the brassire in a position to show.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a garment of the character described wherein the girdle comprises a front panel which is detachably attached to the portion covering the hips and the back, and wherein the securin means between the two portions is of an adjustable character so that the tightness of the girdle around the waist may be adjusted.

Another object of the invention is to provid a garment of the character stated wherein the girdle is constructed to have'detachably joined thereto at the front and rear, a pantie brief,

chafe or chaie shields or sanitary shields, such detachable portions additionally functioning, when in position, to assist in maintaining the shiftable back portion of the girdle in the desired position.

The invention will be best understood from a consideration of the following detailed. description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, it being understood, however, that the invention is not to be considered as limited by the specific illustration or description but that such illustration and description constitute a preferred embodiment of the invention.

In the drawings; '1

Figure 1 is a viewinffront elevation oi the garment embodying the present invention, showing the same applied; r

Figure 2 is a view in rear elevation of the applied garment, portions being broken away.

Figure 3 is a view of the garment inside elevation, showing it applied and illustrating the adjustable bottom action.

Figure 4 is a sectional view on the line. 4 -'l of Figure 2. i v

Figure 5 is a view illustrating the separated relation of the girdle and brassire.

Figure 6 is a view in perspective of the sanitary shield showing the use to which the same is to be put.

Figure '7 is a view illustrating the chafe shiel applied.

Figure 8 is a view in perspective of the chafe shield, the garter bands being broken away.

Figure 9 is a view illustrating the use of the waist band with the shoulder straps attached directly thereto. ,v

Figure 10 is a view on an enlarged scale of; the upper portion of the central part of. the girdle at the back.

Figure 11 is a detailed view on an enlarged scale of the use of the coupling eye for the elastic strapsand shoulder straps.

Figure 12 is a sectional view on the line l2-l 2 of Figure 11.

Figure 13 is a view illustrating the disposition of the brassire straps when used with the waist band and arranged to be worn with evening dress.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, it will be seen that the present garment comprises three unit portions, namely, the brassiere which is generally designated B, the girdle generally designated G, and the crotch unit generally designated C.

The girdle comprises two separable sections I0 and ii, the section lli'constituting the front or abdominal section and the section I I constituting the back section. The front section is detachably secured along the vertical side edges I2 to the corresponding vertical edges, not designated, of the back section II by separable fasteners I3 and in order to facilitate making necessary adjustments of the girdle a double row of fastening elements is provided on the back portion for coaction with the row of fastener parts carried by the front section. The line of connection between the front and rear sections extends over the hips at the sides of the wearer and, as shown, the overall length of the girdle through the hip and waist portions is such that the girdle will not come down to any great extent over the thighs and extends only a short distance above the waistline or far enough to give the necessary support between the hips and the lower ribs. Suitable inserts of elastic are provided at the sides of the girdle and at the bottom edge, as indicated at I4, and at. the top edge, at the sides, as indicated at I5.

However, the frontoi: abdominal section of the girdle has an upwardly extending, preferably arcuate, top portion I6 which extends well above the top edge of the girdle at the sides. an'd'back, overlying the stomach area for connection with the brassiere unit B in the manner hereinafter stated, and the edge of this extended top portion I6 is provided with suitable fastener parts I! for coaction with corresponding fastener parts, hereinafter' referred to, carried by. the brassiere unit.

The lower end or edge of the abdominal section ID is also extended downwardly, as indicated. at I 8,.this extension being at the longitudinal center of the section I!) and curving under the lower part of the abdomen.

Suitable light stays may be built into the abdominal section I toextend lengthwise thereof, as indicated at I9.

The lower or bottom edge of the back section of the girdle is indicated by the character and may be rounded or curved downwardly slightly as illustrated, and this back section is stiffened or reinforced by thelight vertical stays 2| which are disposed close to and upon the two sides of the vertical center and are so related to the spine when the garment is in place.

The lower back section II is made vertically adjustable by an apron piece 22 which comprises a piece of suitable material of more or less elliptical design, the length or long axis of which extends across the buttocks,.. as. is most clearly shown in Figure 2. A portion of this apron piece lies against the inner side of the lower end of. the back section and each end or point is secured to the back section adjacent a side edge thereof and slightly inwardly from the bottom edge, as is best illustrated in Figure 3, this point of connection being indicated by the numeral 23. The top and bottom edges of the-apronpiece are, of course, arcuate so that the lower edge extends downwardly a substantial distance over the buttocks, as shown. in- Figure 2, and the central part of this lower edge, which is indicated by the reference 24, carries separable fastener parts for facilitating the attachment between this edge 24 and the lower portion I3 of the front or abdominal section, of a unit C. The stated lower portion I3 of the abdominal section carries similar separable fastener parts which are indicated by the reference character 26.

The apron piece 22 is maintained in position under normal conditions, by which. is meant when the wearer of the garment is standing upright, by the elastic tie pieces 21 which are disposed one adjacent each end of the apron piece, as shown in Figure 2, and each of these elastic tie pieces has one end stitched to the back section II while the other end extends down between this section and the apron piece and is stitched to the apron piece. The upper and lower ends of these elastic tie pieces are cut obliquely and these oblique end edges converge laterally or towards the hips. When the tie pieces 2'! are relaxed they draw the apron piece up beneath the lower end or tail portion of the back section.

As previously stated, the apron piece is connected between the bottom edge, at its transverse center, to the lower edge of the downward extension l8 of the abdominal section by one of several forms of the crotch unit C.

One of such crotch units may be in the form of a pantie brief 28 which, at its two ends, carries fastener parts, not designated, for coaction with the fastener parts 25 and 28. Thus, when the wearer assumes a stooping or a sitting position such crotch unit will hold the lower edge 24 of the apron piece 22 and cause a relative sliding or slipping movement between this piece and the back section to which it is joined by the elastic tie pieces, such tie pieces thus being placed under tension or stretch, as shown in Figure 3. Thus, it will be seen that an adjustment of the lower part of the back section takes place automatically and when the strain is removed the parts return to their former normal relation without producing bulges or unsightly buckling of the material, and at the same time the desired close confinement of the adjacent portions of the body is maintained.

Figures 6 to 8 designate other forms of crotch units, that unit C in Figure 6 and bearing the reference numeral 29 constituting a sanitary shield while the form of the unit illustrated in Figures '7 and 8 constitutes a chafe shield which is identified bythe reference character 30. The chafe shield includes a crotch portion 3I having attached to the two sides the leg aprons 32.

The ends of the sanitary shield 29 and of the crotch piece 3| have suitable fastener parts 33 for coaction with the fastener parts 25 and 26 to facilitate securing these units in position. In addition the leg aprons 32 of the chafe shield have the elastic garters 34 attached thereto to encircle the legs of the wearer and thus maintain the aprons in position.

At the top center of the back section I I there are secured the elastic strap loops 33 by which the securing or attachment of the brassiere back straps to the girdle is facilitated. Each of these elastic loops extends slightly above the top edge of the girdle, as illustrated, to facilitate the coupling therewith of a suitable buckle, hereinafter described.

At each side of the pair of loops 33 is a nonelastic loop 34' which is attached to the top edge of the girdle and these loops are also employed for attaching the brassiere straps to the girdle.

As previously stated, the brassiere unit B extends only across the chest and terminates adjacent the arm pits. This unit includes the usual breast pockets'35 which are joined together by an elastic V-insert 36 and a lower skirt portion 31 which is provided with two or more transverse rows of fastener parts 38 for coaction with the fastener parts I! which are carried by the extended upper portion I6 of the abdominal section.

Each of the breast pockets 35 has an integral lateral'extension or ear 39, and this is secured to ashoulder strap which is generally indicated by the referenc character 40. The part of each tened, as indicated at 4 I.

Above the point of connection between the ears 39 and the shoulder straps, the straps have connected therewith the upper ends of the downwardly converging elastic straps 42 which form a V ,and join the elastic insert 36, forming a continuation of the V-formation of this insert.

The ends of the shoulder straps 40 pass one over the top of the shoulderand the other beneath the arm and across the side and extend obliquely across the back of the wearer, forming the back straps 43 and 44. Each two or pair of the back straps 43 and 44 converge slightly in extending across the back and in one manner of attaching the straps to the girdle the straps 43 are in crossed relation, While in another manner of attaching them to the girdle or attaching them to a waistband, the straps 43 converge to form a V so that the garment or. the brassire alone may be worn with a low back evening gown.

Each strap 44 is attached to acoupling ring or eye 45 and attached to each eye upon the opposite side from the strap 44 is a short elastic strap 46 which forms a continuation of the strap 44. These elastics'46 are joined to a split buckle 41 which has a relatively long bottom bar 48 in which the split or division 49 is formed. The elastics 46 are attached to the top part of this split buckle and the two portions of the bar 48 are engaged in the elastic loops 33', as shown in Figure 10, thus detachably connecting the buckle and the straps 4446 with the central part of the back section of the girdle.

There is also attached to each of the eyes 45 to extend therefrom in a line substantially perpendicular to the line of the back strap 44, the short strap 50 having a suitable loop at its lower end, as at 50', to receive an open slip-on buckle 52 which is adapted for detachable connection with a loop 34.

Each of the back straps 43 terminates in a snap loop 53 so that it may be detachably connected with an eye 45 from the fourth side or opposite the short strap 50. It will thus be seen that each strap 44 and the adjacent aligned strap 46 constitute in effect a single back strap and this is so also of each strap 43 and the adjacent elastic strap 50.

The crossed arrangement of the straps 43 with the ends of such straps detachably connected to the eyes 45, may be used for all ordinary occasions, but the rearrangement or adjustment of these straps may be employed in association either with the girdle or with a separate waist belt, if the girdle is to be left off, so that a V- formation of the straps 43 may be obtained to allow for the wearing of the braissire and the shoulder brase straps with a low back gown.

Figure 13 shows this rearrangement or readjustment of the straps 43 in association with 21 waist belt which is indicated generally by the reference character 5| but it will be readily apparent after reading the following description of the attachment of the straps 43 in the arrangement stated how such arrangement may be used in association with the girdle.

The waist belt 5!, provided with suitable fastening devices for securing it around the waist, is also provided at its top edge with loops 54 corresponding to the loops 34 of the girdle. These all) loops have connected'therewith the buckles 52 which attach the ends of the straps 50 with the belt. The split bucklefl" is detached'from the girdle loops 33' and the portion of the waist belt 5| lying between the loops 54 is worked through the opening 49 so that the'waist belt will be caused to pass through the split buckle and lie across the bar 48,-3.5 shown in Figure 9.- The snap loops 53 are then detached from the eyes 45 and are connected tothe split buckle 41 between the elastic straps 43. Thus the desired V- formation of the straps 43 is obtained and it will be readily apparent, aspreviouslystated-how this arrangement might also be used in connection with the girdle.

From the foregoing it will be readily apparent that there has been provided in the present invention a garment of such novel construction as to make possible the elimination of a major portion of the rubber which is now'considered essential in a garment of this character, without sacrificing any of the desirable features of an all-rubber or nearly all-rubber garment. Such garment as is here described may, consequently,

be made of fabric of open weav'e so that better- The extreme simplicity of the" garment also.

makes it easier to fit the same to all types of figures.

tion but also provides an effective shoulder brace, requiring that the wearer hold her shoulders back and thus maintain a good posture and the desirable action of the shoulder brace is maintained whether the brassiere be worn by itself or in combination with the girdle structure.

I claim:

1. A garment of the character set forth comprising a waist encircling unit, a brassire unit having side portions terminating at the sides of the chest of the wearer, a single shoulder strap secured to each of said side portions and having an end passing over the shoulder and downwardly across the back, and a second end passing under the arm and downwardly across the back, the said ends of each shoulder strap forming back straps being arranged to have a downwardly convergent relation toward said waist unit, and means detachably connecting the convergently related ends of each shoulder strap with the back part of the waist unit.

2. In a garment of the character stated, a girdle unit having an upwardly extending front top edge portion, elastic loops at the central part of the top edge of the back of the girdle, a brassiere unit having a bottom apron, means for detachably coupling said bottom apron with the upwardly extending top edge portion, said brassiere unit further having laterally extending ear portions terminating short of the side of the chest of the wearer, a strap secured to each of said ears and having one end arranged to extend upwardly over the adjacent shoulder of the wearer and a second end adapted to extend beneath the adjacent arm of the wearer, means detachably coupling the said second ends of the two straps to said elastic loops, and means for selectively coupling the first-mentioned end of each strap with the second-mentioned end of the opposite strap or with the said means by which the second-mentioned ends are attached to the elastic loops.

The novel strap arrangement :for the brassire not only holds the latter firmly in posi-,

3. In a garment of; the character: stated, waist. encircling unit such as a girdle, waist band and the like, a brassiere unit having a total overall width less thani'the distance from one side of awearer's chest to the other, and a shoulder bracing strap attached to each side of the brassire unit and having portions for extension over the shoulder and underthe arm to the back of the first-mentioned unit, and means for detachably coupling the, said extended portions of each strap to the first-mentioned unit at the hack thereof, in which the said attaching means comprises a buckle detachably joined to the cen tral part of the back of the first unit and having connected thereto that end portion of each strap which passes beneaththe arm of the wearer, and a pair of buckles each attached to the firstmentioned unit adjacent to the side of the wearer and having the other end portion of the remote shoulder strap detachably connected therewith.

4. In a garment of the character stated, a waist encircling unitsuch as agirdle, waist band and the like, a brassiere. unit having a total overall width less than the distance from. one side of awearers chest to the other, and a shoulder bracing strap attached to each side of the brassiere unit and having portions for extension over the shoulder and under the arm to the back of the first-mentioned unit, and means for detachably coupling; the said extended portions of each strap to the first-mentioned unit at the back thereof, in which said attaching means comprises a buckle detachably coupled to the central part of the back of the first-mentioned ace-3 0 unit and havingattached thereto that end portion of each shoulder strap which passes heneath the arm of the wearer, and a pairoi buckles-each detachably connected to the firstmentioned unit adjacent a side of the wearer and having detachably coupled therewith that end portion of the remote strap which passes over the shoulder, and the said detachably connected last-mentioned strap ends being attachable to the first buckle.

5. In a garment of the character set forth, a waist encircling unit, a brassire unit having side portions, a strap attached to each side portion and having an upper end of a length to extend over the adjacent shoulder of a wearer and downwardly across the back and a lower end of av length to extend beneath the adjacent arm of the wearer and downwardly across the back, a coupling element connected to the lower end of each strap, an elastic strap attached to each coupling element opposite to said lower end of the adjacent first strap, means connecting each elastic strap to said waist unit at the center of the back thereof, ashort strap connecting each coupling element with the Waist encircling unit adjacent a. side thereof, and means carried at the terminus of the upper end of each of the first-mentioned straps for selectively connecting the upper end of the first-mentioned strapwith the coupling element remote therefrom or with the stated means by which the elastic straps are attached to the waist encircling unit.

FLORENCE E. 'WRIGLEY. 

